Enterprises Prefer Open Source SDN Technology from Commercial Vendors

When it comes to software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions
virtualization (NFV) solutions, almost all enterprise-level organizations prefer
open source solutions, but three quarters of them want those open source
solutions to come from commercial vendors, according to a new report from the
OpenDaylight Project.

The report, "SDN,
NFV and Open Source: The Operator's View," was based on a December 2013
survey commissioned by the OpenDaylight Project and conducted by
Gigaom Research. Gigaom surveyed 300
enterprises and 300 service providers in North America about their plans for and
perspectives on SDN, NFV and open source and determined that "industry standards
and open systems will play a strong role in the timely widespread adoption and
ultimate success of both SDN and NFV solutions," according to the report.

The report found that organizations want open source technology because of
potential cost savings and freedom of choice, but they want the open source
technology to come from commercial vendors because they associate those vendors
with proven delivery and support practices. The report also found that
organizations want systems that follow industry standards, which improve system
interoperability and reduce vendor lock-in, and according to a post on the
OpenDaylight blog, open source
projects can "create de facto standards through common code development."

Other key findings from the report:

Organizations' deployment timelines for SDN and NFV are very aggressive
but will likely be slowed down by financial, technical and organizational
pressures;

Security is a key driver behind networking advancements, followed by
improved network service levels, reduced operating costs and reduced capital
costs; and

For enterprises, the wireless local area network (WLAN) is the highest
priority target for SDN and NFV solutions, probably because of
bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives.

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